Are you on a Wiccan, Druid, or another Pagan spiritual path and would like some live instruction to complement your reading and other solitary practice? Are you curious about modern Pagan religion and would like to hear about it from people who’ve been practicing it for years? Have you outgrown the many Wicca 101 books but are unsure how to move on?

The Denton Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans will present An Introduction to Modern Pagan Religion on Saturday, July 20. The class will start at 1:00 PM and run until 5:00. We’ll cover the beliefs and practices of our ancient ancestors, the origins of Wicca and other modern Pagan religions, basic concepts and how different Pagans understand them, the role of Nature in our beliefs and practices, and the essentials of personal spiritual practice.

The class will be led by Cynthia Talbot, an anthropologist who’s been a Wiccan high priestess for 20 years and is our CUUPS Treasurer, and John Beckett, the Coordinating Officer of Denton CUUPS and a Druid in the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids.

There is no charge for this class, but donations are requested. This class is “family friendly” and is appropriate for older children. We are unable to provide childcare for younger children at this event.

If you have any questions, please contact John Beckett at JohnFranc@aol.com or 972-948-9211

Denton CUUPS has always been an adult-focused group, but we’ve tried to be friendly to families with children. Our efforts to offer childcare haven’t always worked out. Many times we’ve hired childcare workers and had no children at the circle. Other times we’ve announced “we are unable to provide childcare at this event” only to have families arrive expecting someone to watch their kids. And of course, as anyone who has kids understands, finding qualified childcare workers on a Saturday night isn’t always easy.

Recently we’ve tried announcing “childcare will be provided if requested by the Tuesday before the circle.” At Beltane, we had four responses, only one of which was before the deadline. We were unable to find a childcare worker, so one of our members volunteered to skip the circle and watch the kids. Then nine children showed up. Our volunteer was overwhelmed. We found another volunteer to help with childcare, but that was a person who had come to Beltane expecting to experience the ritual, not watch children.

At Summer Solstice on June 22, childcare will be by reservation only. If you are planning to attend with children too young to participate in the main circle, let us know no later than Tuesday, June 18. One way or another, we’ll find childcare workers to manage those children.

If you show up with children without making a reservation, you will be responsible for watching your own kids.

We’d love to have a full nursery and kids RE program at all our events, but we are a small group with limited resources. We will do what we can to accommodate families with young children, and we ask for parents’ cooperation in helping match our resources to actual needs.